Hydraulic systems are important to many work machines and represent large expenses in the event of component failure. If failures are detected early, repair expenses can be minimized; however, if catastrophic failure occurs, the large amounts of particles caused by the failure can enter the hydraulic system and cause damage to many other components. Fortunately, any catastrophic failure of one of the components is often preceded by the gradual breakup of one or more components. This break-up can be detected so that corrective action can be taken before any further damage to surrounding components occurs.
In the past, there have been several different ways to detect metallic particles within a fluid. One such system is described by Magee et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,805. This system captures ferrous particles that are contained in a fluid medium, and indicates the mass of any significant individual ferrous particles and the total mass of such particles that have accumulated over a predetermined time period. However, this system is limited to the detection of ferrous particles, e.g., iron; as opposed to non-ferrous particles, e.g., copper, brass, or nonmagnetic stainless steel.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.